Damian's School Days
by Betony
Summary: Under the guidance (more like command) of his father, Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne is 'encouraged' (forced) to attend High School, but not just any High School: Gotham Public High School. Here the bat boy is forced to forge new alliances, gain enemies and uncover a dark plot of Gotham's underground.
1. Chapter 1

_"I don't understand why I should even do this."_

 _"Like I said before, many of the gang members joining Two-Face and Joker are kids. Kids your age. Having you enter the recruitment grounds could potentially help us in stopping these kids from committing crimes or getting themselves hurt."_

That was the conversation Damian had with his father this morning but still.

Looking around the crowded early morning cafeteria, the green eyed former assassin caught the gist of the grouping.

It was six weeks since the start of the new year, so clicks were already formed. There were the 'jocks' and 'cheerleaders' – traditionally the popular people if movie references were anything to go by. 'Goths' were a small group of depressed black wearing individuals with colored hair and outrageous piercings. 'Geeks' and 'Nerds' who were side by side but obviously different; one group preferred card games like 'magic' and the other group was engrossed on studying before classes began. 'Trouble makers' and 'Class clowns' seemingly went hand in hand – could be seen all around, mingling with the different groups; clearly extroverts that ruled the school from the background. There were other minor groups of people, probably from the same club or interests what have they, and a small handful of pure introverts. The silent wall flowers. The hidden eyes and ears of the school.

He shall see to them first.

Calmly walking up to a lone girl, Damian was suddenly stopped by a head of red popping in his way.

"Yo, you look new!" The girl cheered, moving to stand directly in front of him. She was one inch taller than him, putting her close to 5'9. Tall for a girl her age (presumably 16 Damian wagers), but that could be because of the high heels she wears. The stranger had fire truck red hair, brown eyes with green eye shadow, black top with a dark grey cardigan and knee length lime green skirt with matching heels. She seemed too dressed up to be going to high school, but the young boy suspected it was because of her insecurities on the way she is perceived by others and makes no outward comment.

The only thing she receives is a cold glare and rose brow. "And might I ask who you are?"

"Trisha Hanks, nice to meet you." She continues giving Damian that warm smile. "I couldn't help but notice that I've never seen you around, so I wanted to say hi." She paused. "Hi."

The black-haired boy hummed, considering her words, before offering his hand. "Damian Wa – Wagner." It would cause too much problems for Bruce if anyone caught wind of his son going to a public school, so the name change was necessary. Giving her hand a firm shake, Damian clasped his hands behind his back, looking around with purpose. "So am I correct in assuming you know nearly everyone here?"

"Only the ones that matter." Trisha answered enigmatically, giving Damian a charming smirk when he finally turned to look at her. Nothing was said, as Damian assumed she would continue, and she did, but not in the way he expected her to. The red-head tilted her head, crossing her arms. "Something tells me you want this information."

Narrowing his gaze, Damian nodded. "It would be nice to know who to stay away from, yes." She had no reason to know his true purpose so he answered in what he suspected was common.

This seemed to work as the girl sighed in amusement. "Doesn't everyone." Looking over the groups, she then turned to Damian. "You got fifty?"

"Pardon?"

"If this information is so important to you, it's gonna cost you fifty bucks."

He should've expected this. She was outgoing, dressed stylishly; she had to have some form of income to afford those shoes. So now he must haggle with a strange girl. Narrowing his gaze, Damian moved to walk away. "I doubt your information is worth fifty bucks."

Pouting the girl blocks his way again, then pointed to a random person. "Jason Block, 19. Failed the third grade, jock on the football team but is failing his classes. He's thinking about dropping out but his parents won't let him." Then to a blonde girl. "Gabby Young, 15. Dating Kevin, a Joker member, but slept with his younger brother Derick three days ago. Everyone knows except Kevin, but he'll know by the end of third period and there's going to be a fight before lunch A. She's in the dance team and is going to nationals." Then to another group, this time one of the 'Geeks'. "And Trevor Morris. 17. He doesn't look like the type, but he smuggles some weed for Two-faces gang from time to time because he's so innocent looking." Placing her hands on her hips, Damian attempted to not look as amazed as he felt. "My information is better than anyone else's. Still think it's not worth it?"

Giving a low growl, drowned out by the chatter of the cafeteria, Damian reached into his back pocket. "Fine, fifty –"

"Hundred and your phone number." The brown eyed girl countered, shrugging at the Wayne's glare. "What can I say, you hurt my feelings. Plus, if you're going to want information, I'm going to need a way to contact you."

Damian grumbled but did as she said, offering his phone so she can obtain his number.

Satisfied with her results, the negotiator smirked, tossing his phone back. "Hundred bucks gives you at least one hundred heads to know. If you're over that limit, it'll be five bucks per head." At his incredulous look, Trisha giggled. "What, d'you think a hundred bucks was gonna cut it?" She then gave a full-blown laugh that was drowned out by the bell. Walking off, she called out, "Welcome to Gotham High, Dami."


	2. Chapter 2

"My name is Damian Wagner. Currently, I am a Junior. I recently moved here to Gotham last week. I hope to get along with you all, thank you for having me." Damian droned on. They were the lines Alfred told him to speak, but he's been saying it so often it was getting a bit tedious.

The drama teacher, Mr. Shoemaker, nodded his head. "Right well, go ahead and take your seat and we'll get the class started."

Moving to the back of the class, Damian reached for his phone and skimmed through the information his new acquaintance Trisha sent him. He had to say, the information was good. Out of the hundred names, twenty of them seemed to be who he was looking for. Ten of the twenty were in Riddler's gang, six with Two-Face, two with Black Mask, one with the Joker and one with Firefly. But Damian wasn't foolish enough to believe that with a high school of 60,000 only twenty were part of the gangs; she was holding out on him.

As Mr. Shoemaker droned on and one about 'stage positions' and 'emphasize', Damian glanced around at the mostly bored classroom. Many of the brightly colored, talkative jocks and preps from this morning were crowded in the back middle, outcasts towards the edge, drama towards the front and a mix of different people in the middle, where Damian sat.

When the instructor announced a quiz, there were silent groans of protest and a tap on his shoulder.

Glancing over revealed a tanned young man with shaggy blonde hair and a frown. His blue eyes were like ice as he stared at the young man. "Hey dude, you got a pencil I can use."

"Yes, but why should I give it to you if you did not ask?" Damian snapped, frowning right back at the boy.

This yielded a strange response as the young man merely chuckled and sat straight in his desk. "You mind if I borrow a pencil, dude?" Though it was said sarcastically, Damian still handed the blonde his pencil right when the quizzes were handed out.

Towards the end, much of the class was done and the teacher allowed them free time to chat, encouraging the boy from before to face Damian. Handing him the pencil, the blonde nodded. "Here."

"Thanks." Damian took the pencil and went back to reading. He was annoyed by the class and their need to shout at each other, despite sitting directly across from each other.

"I saw you talking to Trisha this morning." Damian glanced up. The blond shrugged.

Setting down the book, Damian decided to indulge his curiosity. "You know Hanks?"

It took the blue-eyed kid a second to realize that Damian was using Trisha's last name before finally nodding with a smirk. "Well yeah, everyone knows Trisha. She's basically everyone's friend."

"Though I get the feeling you know her better than everyone else."

"Well, she is my sister."

Damian hummed. He'd be pushing his luck if he were to assume this boy had the same resources as Trisha, but then again having another connection with an info-broker could be helpful. "I take it you're her younger brother? Funny, you don't look alike."

The blonde made a noncommittal noise. "Eh, she's not my 'sister' sister, but I've known her just as long. Our parents are close friends."

"I see." Well, that put a damper on his plans, but bonds by choice are often better above bonds of blood. Offering his hand, Damian gave a stern stare. "Damian Wagner."

Shaking his hand, the blonde offered an amused response. "Blake Johnson." Taking back his hand, Blake smiled. "Look, you seem like a good guy so I'm gonna tell you: Trisha is a shark. You ask one favor and she'll make you do something for her."

"I've already paid her for information."

Blake laughed, shaking his head. "Then I guess my warning came too late." He then reduced himself to chuckles, leveling Damian with a stone glance. "But seriously, Trisha is kind of dangerous. She's got her hand in almost everything around this school."

So, does she know of the gangs recruiting? "Noted." Damian nodded, glancing at Blake. "Related question, do you know of where the gangs recruit the student body?"

"Gangs?" Blake rose a brow. "No, not really, and I doubt Trisha knows either." Damn, so he wasted money on her for no reason. "But feel free to ask her, and only her. If anyone else catches you snooping around, it could be trouble. Just saying, man."

"If she doesn't know, who does?"

The bell rang, signaling the start of lunch. Standing up, Blake shrugged on his back-pack. "Beats me, I never even heard of gangs recruiting on campus. But I heard from Joel that like, half the school is in a gang. Something about protection or shit like that." Blake then started following Damian, much to the shorter boy's annoyance. "Problem with that though is a lot of fights go on because there are so many different gangs in one school."

As if on cue, a crowd erupted around a small group of guys punching each other senseless. Many of the students cheered on, while others ignored it.

Damian glanced over but kept walking while Blake barely shot a glance himself. Waving it off, the blonde continued. "Yeah, like that."

"So it's unlikely that they would recruit on campus?" Damian mused when they just entered the threshold of the café.

Blake snickered. "Dude, if they started recruiting here, there'd be a freaking bloodbath. Hey, jello."

So, there was no reason for Damian to be here. He growled, walking away to the courtyard, ignoring the protest of Blake. Then what was the point of his father placing him here? Damian could've been far from Gotham city, going back to the mountains with the monks.

Finding a secluded corner by the windows, Damian sat back on the concrete foundation and cursed. "Why am I even here? This is ridiculous."

"Yo Dami." Looking up, the green-eyed boy didn't even bother hiding his sigh of annoyance as Trisha and Blake came up to him. Taking a seat to his left, Trisha smirked. "Heard you ran out on my brother. That's not nice."

"What do you know of the gang's recruitment of teenagers at this school?" Damian asks bluntly.

Trisha pouted when Blake cheered. "Told you that'd be the first thing he'd say to you!"

Pulling out a ten from her bag, the redhead snapped. "Yeah, yeah. Shut up, no one likes a sore winner, jackass." Then she shrugged at Damian. "That info is gonna cost you twenty."

"I'm not going to just throw my money at you if the information is erroneous."

At her blank stare, Blake helpfully whispered. "I think that means 'wrong'."

"Oh right." Trisha joyfully smiled. "But I was just playing Smiles; I don't really charge for things I don't have."

Damian frowned, leaning forward. Great, now what was his father going to say?

Suddenly Trisha glanced over to Damian's right. "Hey Jack, you know Damian too?"

Damian jumped when he heard a dull rustling of fabric and glanced over to see a young girl with long light brown hair, gray jacket and a book leaning against the wall next to the Wayne; how did he miss her sitting there?

'Jack' he presumed, didn't bother to look up as she leafed through her book. "No."

"Awesome," Trisha replied before introducing Damian. "Dami, Jack. Jack, Dami."

The strange girl finally looked up, revealing disinterested amber eyes. Her wolfish irises looked over Damian before nodding. "Hey." Then returned to her book.

"Jack's a pretty cool cat." Blake complimented, though this seemingly went ignored by the girl herself. "AB student, though her sister's in A-honor roll, and she can play any instrument. I think she's like a savant or something."

"Polymath," Jack stated, sighing as she placed her book down and looked at the group. "Though I do prefer instruments most days."

"Throwing these big words around, I can't keep up," Trisha complained, shaking her head dramatically.

Blake smirked and slowly explained. "Jack is real, really smart."

"What is your favorite composition?" Damian struck a conversation.

"Across the Burren by Michele McLaughlin." Was her simple answer.

Damian shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't know that composer."

Jack gave a slight upturn of her lips. "No, not a lot of people do."

Lunch went by quickly, and with it the day. Once Alfred arrived to pick up Damian in an unassuming vehicle, the young boy rubbed his hand over his tired face when Trisha shouted her good-byes, followed by Blake.

"Be safe Pretty Boy!" Trisha gleefully called.

"See you tomorrow, Bestie~!" Blake called out, then just as loudly tried to encourage Jack to do the same. "Come on, you know you want to."

Jack sighed, giving a slight wave then walking off.

Climbing in the driver's seat, Alfred hid the smirk dying to come out. "Nice day at school I take?"

"Interesting characters." Damian replied, then all was quiet.


	3. Chapter 3

"Alfred told me you had fun at school today." Bruce started. The two of them were at a charity event, hosted by a supporter of Wayne industries. The entire place was all posh and glittering with money, clinks of champagne glasses could be heard, along with polite laughter.

"There were some interesting people present, yes." Damian replied. "There's a girl there that operates as a form of information broker. She's apparently dangerous, so I've decided to keep her and her brother close."

Bruce nodded, but did find it surprising that a young person was already working a dangerous field, despite it being high school. "Her brother as well?"

"He's the one that warned me about her."

"Ah."

Then a woman in a red dress appeared on stage. Her brown hair curled and up high, revealing a slim neck adorned with gold. Amy Gray, the hostess for this soiree, clasped her hands together excitedly. "Ladies and Gentlemen, for those of you who don't know me, I am Amy Gray, co-founder of Gotham's Gifted where we gather Gotham's most talented children and strive to make their lives better so they can achieve the dreams that they can obtain. To show our appreciation, we have a few young composers who would be glad to perform for you today. Starting with Gregory."

There was a friendly clapping initiated by Amy Grey before a ten-year-old boy in a tux came out from behind the curtain and sat at the piano.

There was a moment of silence and Damian took the time to roll his eyes. "Great, he's going to play twinkle star or –"

Then the entire dance parlor was filled with fast pace notes. This child, a ten-year-old kid, was playing Flight of the Bumblebee by Nikolai Rimski-Korsakow. Damian quickly schooled his features and only mumbled, "I can play that piece."

Bruce smirked at his son's jealously and clapped along with the crowd when the child was done playing.

Amy Grey went back to the mic and picked up where she left off. "With your donations, we will happily aid orphans like Gregory achieve their brightest dreams here in the city of Gotham. Please enjoy the rest of the night with our eldest composer, Jaqueline."

Damian nearly coughed out the rest of his drink when a familiar face appeared on stage.

Bruce looked at his son with rose brows before following his gaze to the pretty young girl on stage, taking seat on the piano. Light brown hair, eyes down casted, pink lips, full face. She was cute. Was she perhaps Damian's type, Bruce wondered, silently praying he didn't have to go down this road with his son.

As the girl started playing, Damian was frowning. Of course, he should've known Jack wasn't her real name, yet Trisha said it so easily, he felt the need to go with it. "I go to school with that girl."

"Oh." Thank goodness, Bruce thought. He was just shocked at seeing a classmate. "Then it would be best to leave; she could recognize you."

"True," Damian agreed. "Let us part."

The next day, Damian went ahead with his investigation, but decided to do a little side-mission, for his own enjoyment.

During lunch, Damian stopped by Trisha's table, which consisted of three other girls and two males he had no interest in studying. "We need to talk."

Trisha sighed, smiling at the group apologetically when she stood. "Alright guys, see ya later. Oh, and Christi, remember your promise okay?" Her tone was sweet, but it left one of the girls shaking. Walking away from the group, Trisha sighed, only this time with exhaustion. "Remind me to pay Christi a visit, she promised to buy me pizza in exchange for some discounts but she hasn't paid back." Without waiting for a reply, the cheerful woman smiled at Damian. "So what you need Dami my boy?"

"I want information on Jaqueline, the girl you introduced me to yesterday."

"I already told you about her yesterday," Trisha replied, tilting her head in confusion.

"Yes, but that was just an introduction, not information."

A smirk was brought up and the girl placed a finger to her lips. "You know what Dami, I'm really starting to like you. You know how to read between the lines." Her smirk fell. "Hundred bucks."

"Why a hundred? I thought each person was worth five?" Damian nearly shouted incredulously.

Trisha laughed. "It is, I just wanted to see how you'd react. But seriously, it's gonna cost you ten since I do consider her a valuable buddy."

Damian grumbled but handed her the money. Alfred isn't going to like this, but what he doesn't know what hurt the poor chap.

Taking a breath, Trisha started. "Jack is 17 years old, Senior. Works at a nice bar down the way on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, sometimes weekend nights. She's an orphan and is financially supported by the Gotham's Gifted Foundation, which is kind of a load of crap considering they only care about the money she earns when she plays at the opera house when they can book her. She's pretty dangerous; knows how to fight, broke into a bunch of places when she was a kid and got away with it." Then Trisha smirked. "Word on the street is, is that she knows where some of the gang's recruit."

Damian's eyes widened. Bingo. "Do you know where she is now?"

"My mind is getting a little hazy, I just can seem to remember." Trisha smirked. "Perhaps a little incentive will help jog my memory."

"She's not here today," Blake provided, joining the standing circle with a juice box in hand. "I didn't see her in class this morning, so I doubt Trisha would know right off the bat."

"But I do know where all her hangouts are." Trisha defended with an easy smile.

Blake shook his head. "Just wait until tomorrow, I'm sure Jack will be back by then."

Damian frowned but conceded to the advice, willing to wait over giving his meager lunch money to the vulture of an info broker.


	4. Chapter 4

Tomorrow then turned into three, then into a week. Yet still, Jack did not come back. When he asked Trisha and Blake if this was normal, their answers surprised him; Blake's did, not Trisha's.

"Ten bucks –"

"Jack does this stuff all the time. Mostly it's because of her sponsor, Amy Grey has her doing showings at the opera house in Star City. But it's cool, the school lets her pass because of it."

Damian sighed. Why was he hanging around these people, asking questions he doesn't need answers to? It's not like they can help him with his mission.

"So I heard Jake's throwing a party tonight." Trisha suddenly announced though Damian attempted to block her out.

"Which Jake?" Blake questioned, digging into his plate of spaghetti.

"Jake, from State Farm."

"You're an idiot."

Trisha laughed. "No, but seriously, it's Crazy J, you know the guy in one of the gangs." Now Damian was listening. "Apparently, he's throwing it on Jokers turf tonight and is inviting everyone." She then looked to Damian. "Could be a recruitment party…"

Frowning, Damian handed her five dollars. "Where?"

 _"Warehouse 91. By the docks. No one uses it, but kids around here use it for parties. Be careful, bands playing tonight."_

Running this by his father, Bruce allowed Damian to conduct recon as Damian Wagner. Robin might not have been caught, but they needed to see firsthand if there was any recruiting going on around here.

The place was run down, but structurally sound. Some kids managed to install a generator as strobe lights and the thrum of a bass line echoed from within.

Entering the place, Damian wasn't surprised to find kids and college aged students already here. This was a popular hangout. There were two levels. The lower was a dance floor with an elevated stage on the opposite wall holding the speakers and DJ – another young man. On either side of the walls were bars and stools with sparse tables. Then the second floor, which seemed to be a VIP area of sorts as only a handful of people were up there; they were different, appearing older and more refined. He recognized one of those people as Karl von Dan – a mobster working under Penguin.

He was probably funding this, made sense, Damian conjured, moving to take a seat at one of the bar stools and kept his head down but eyes on the VIP's, especially von Dan considering he was the only person of note up there, shagging it up with a few college girls.

The young boy wanted to turn away but only succeeded to catch a glance of an unlikely face making their way to von Dan.

Jacqueline.

But she was supposed to be with Gotham's Gifted in Star City. And when did she find the time to cut her hair that short?

Instead of the long light brown he remembered her having, it was cropped short into a bob and long fringes highlighted green like her… eyes. That can't be right.

Curiosity taking over, Damian removed himself from his seat and managed to sneak to the VIP Lounge, hiding behind a steel pillar closest to von Dan. He still couldn't hear anything, so the Bat child took out an ear bud to help amplify his hearing. Canceling the music, he could catch the beginnings of Jack and von Dan's conversation.

" _Heard you were causing trouble, so I decided to stop by_." He heard Jack answer von Dan, who seemed a little put off. It was strange, Jack seemed different. She sat back, open, arms spread across the couch next to von Dan, yet she gave off an air of danger. With a simple tilt of her head, the three women crowding von Dan ran off, leaving the two to converse. " _Let's talk Karl_." Jack sat straight and eyed the man with narrowed green eyes. " _Why is your boss recruiting kids on my turf?"_

Damian sucked in a breath. She knew about the recruitments. So, then that means she knows where.

Karl took a swig of his bourbon, loosening his tie. If Damian didn't know any better, he'd say this six-foot mobster was acting terrified of this girl. " _Penguin said that since you was gone, it'd be no problem_."

She then started shouting. " _And how exactly does this not count as a problem_!" The girl with the face of Jack snapped, throwing von Dan's glass against the wall as she stood up and gripped the man by his tie. " _Need I remind you the conditions we came up with, your boss and I? Do I have to carve them on your fucking face!_ "

" _No!"_ Karl shouted desperately. " _Oh god no_!"

Her voice became a deadly whisper that Damian's amplified barely picked up. " _Then tell your boss to stop fucking with me. I want your men gone, off my block. If I so much as catch a scent of your damn cologne… Well, just look at what happened to the last mediator who didn't listen to me._ "

Damian was in shock. There was a moment where he felt terrified for the poor bastard and of Jack. Looking past, the steel beam, the boy wonder couldn't help but speculate, is this Jack?

He was finally granted an answer when Karl von Dan stood up on shaky legs and nodded his head. Right when Damian was about to leave, there was a tap on his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Came a familiar bored tone. Turning around, Damian was shocked to see Jack standing right behind him, amber eyes and all. Glancing over his shoulder, she sagged just slightly. "Oh, that's my older sister, Justice. I would ask if you'd want to meet her, but she's kind of busy. What are you doing up here anyways?"

"I was looking for Trisha, since she invited me." Damian answered, glancing back to find Jack's double walking off with a different person. A man in a suit, his face stone and lips moving, speaking to her.

"Couple of our guys caught Joker's crew on our turf, causing trouble."

"Leave 'em." Justice waved off, sounding fainter the farther she gets from Damian – the signal radar is shit. "Let the Bat and his kid handle them. But if they get any closer, fuck them up."

Unaware, or ignoring Damian's inattentiveness, Jack nodded. "Right." She then shrugged. "Trisha's kind of busy so you might not find her. You know her; always going where the facts are." Tilting her head, Jack implored. "Come on before my sister finds you; she doesn't like outsiders in the VIP area."

"Then who is?" the young boy implored, glancing around at the curious people watching him go. They didn't notice him hiding behind the pillar, but now it was like a spotlight caught everyone's attention. Must be because of the normally invisible Jacqueline taking him downstairs.

Her hesitation was only slight, but it was enough to garner Damian's interest. Approaching the stairs, Jack finally answered. "My sister's friends. Colleagues mostly. Her clique, group."

"Gang." Damian finally guessed, earning a terse nod. Narrowing his eyes, the boy didn't bother hiding his disapprovement. "Your sister oversees one of the gangs."

Jack scoffed. "Of course not. She leads the gang." Reaching the bottoms steps, music still blaring, they had to shout at each other to hear. "My sister's not like the other gangs working for Penguin or Two-face. They're independent; keep the other people off our turf. Like if anyone wants to cross over and use the docks, they ask Justice or find a guy that lives on their block, those kinds of things."

So, a different gang Damian and Batman had to worry about. Fantastic. Damian nodded, taking her information. "I see. Thank you." With that, he walked out, intent on not losing this one lead that can take him to a complete mission.


	5. Chapter 5

It was close to two in the morning before Damian, now dressed as Robin, caught the eye of Justice leaving the warehouse, two suits following close behind.

Leaping from the building, the short high schooler landed on his hands and feet directly behind the group. When both men pulled out guns (how dull), Justice finally turned, looking at Robin with a distinctive frown.

Now that he was closer, Damian could tell that her eyes were as unnatural as they seemed to be in the club. A lime green color with flecks of blood red. "You must be Robin." Came her cool response. With a wave of her hand, the men on either side put down their guns. "What do you want?"

"Information," Robin commanded. "I want you to tell me everything you know about the gang's recruitment locations of kids in Gotham."

"And I want two million dollars."

"Excuse me?" Robin seethed, tightening his grip on the staff in his hands.

Justice merely smirked. "Bucks, stacks, greenbacks." Crossing her arms, the older woman quirked a brow. "If anyone's taking down these recruitments, it's gonna be me. But if you want to do it, it's gonna cost you."

"Either you give me the information," Robin twisted his staff in his hands before finishing in a defensive stance. "Of I'll make you."

The brunette scoffed, raising an amused brow. "You're not the first to threaten me, and you sure won't be the last." That smirk finally fell when she uncrossed her arms. "But my answer is still no. No money, no info." Walking off, Justice called back. "Ben, Jerry, take care of him."

"You're not going anywhere!" Damian shouted, lunging at the men standing in his way, planning to quickly dispatch them.

It went by slower than he liked, but eventually the thugs were handled and when he turned the corner to follow Justice – she was gone. How do bad guys always do that?


	6. Chapter 6

"You want to know about Justice?" Trisha parroted skeptically. It was the last class of the day and the four 'friends' (if Damian had to put a label on it) were in their usual corner. To the teacher, it looked as if they were finalizing their roles in the group project, but that wasn't quite the case.

Damian tried to find as much information on Justice as he could, but nothing came up – not even a last name. She was a ghost, the worst adversary to have. Someone who can blend into the populace without so much as a blink. "Yes. If you need money I have it, just tell me all you know about her." He looked over at the girl with the most information but knew he'd never get anything out of her.

Jack was characteristically quiet, not even batting an eyelash at Damian's insistence to find information about her sister. She had nothing to worry about.

Trisha was still hesitant to answer. Twirling a strand of red hair, the young woman sighed. "With an offer like that, you know I would. But what I got is honestly not worth a penny." Leaning against Blake, the boy taking the extra weight with ease, Trisha explained. "I've worked with Justice for 'bout three years now and I only know two things about her: she's dangerous and she hates the other gangs, especially Joker's gang."

"Why is that?" Damian queried.

When Trisha glanced to his right, Damian did the same and saw Jack uncharacteristically tense. The paperback in her hands threatening to tear from the spine and her face blank but eyes distant.

"… Let's just say he took something from her and is lucky to be alive." Trisha answered.

Accepting the answer for now (he'd have to get the details when Jack herself wasn't around), Damian pressed on. "And where would I go about finding her?"

Now this earned a scoff from his high school informant. "You don't. Either you join the gang or she finds you. There's no way Justice is ever going to just set up a meeting because you asked. She needs a reason to find you; either you join her gang and ask to talk to her – which could take forever – or you cause enough trouble she sends her guys after you."

"But she doesn't come at me directly?" Damian guessed, already formulating a plan to cause trouble as Robin.

"Not unless you're part of Joker's gang." Trisha shot that plan down the drain.

Then there was a sigh and all looked to Jack. "Or I can just ask her to see you." When she looked up, she frowned at Damian's surprise. "Well you're just sitting here talking about her and I figure this is better than you doing something stupid that could get you killed."

Unlikely, the dark haired young man wanted to say. But he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Was he suspicious? Of course, but this was also a perfect opportunity. Coughing into his fist, Damian looked the other way. "Thank you, that would be much appreciated."

Jack nodded. "Alright, now that that is out of the way." She looked over the group with an even gaze before pointing at each of them. "Trisha, Blake, you get the information. Damian gets the supplies and I'll illustrate."

Then the bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Trisha shrugged into her matching hot pink backpack. "Alright, but we're going to have to meet up to get the project done. It's due in like, two days."

Jack nodded. "You're right."

"I volunteer Damian's place!" Blake suddenly exclaimed.

"What?!" Damian shouted back.

Trisha nodded. "OH yeah, I never did find out where you lived." She clapped her hands. "Okay, all in favor of going to Dami's place, say 'aye'!"

"Aye!" Trisha and Blake shouted.

"No!" Damian yelled right back, before glancing to Jack who was ignoring their banter by listening to some music. Pulling out an ear bud, the boy implored – though still tried to remain refined. "Jaqueline, please talk some sense into your colleagues."

Jack shrugged. "Why, I'm also curious as to what your place is like."

The boy growled. Great, now his only lifeline was tossing him over as well. Pondering for a moment, Damian knew he couldn't just deny them – they were too stubborn. Especially Trisha. She's bound to find out sooner or later. The green-eyed boy sighed, he'll just have to explain it to his father and hope for the best.

Clenching his fists, Damian finally gritted out. "Fine, we'll go to my place."

"Yay!" Trisha jumped with joy.

But Damian was quick to add. "But you can't tell anyone else, understand?"

Taking in his serious tone and expression, the three high schoolers only smiled in varying degrees.

Trisha smiled smugly – igniting some concern. "Come on Dami, if what you're hiding is worth a damn, I promise it's gonna cost at least five hundred dollars."

Blake was more genuine. "Dude, I don't even like most the people here. Who else can I tell?"

Jack had the soft upturn of lips, as close to a smile as anyone got to see. "Don't worry too much. I only hang out with you idiots, remember."

Then Alfred pulled up in his unassuming vehicle.

With a sigh, Damian looked at the group with trepidation. "Then let us be off."


	7. Chapter 7

When they arrived, after stopping by the shop to pick up their needed supplies, Damian was slightly amused to see the varying degrees of shock come over each of their faces.

"S-so yo- you're…" Blake couldn't even finish the sentence. So, amazed was he, that Blake dropped the bags of supplies on the cobbled driveway.

"Wow, what a curveball." Trisha shook her head, keeping a firm grip on the Tri-board. "This- this is like, worth more than five hundred bucks of information…"

"…" Jack was busy surveying the building before being the first to step up. "Let's just get this project done with."

He took her lack of response as a good thing and was quick to enter the doorway first. "My –" Damian only hesitated for a second. "Friends and I will be in the Eastern drawing room. Do feel free to contact father."

"Of course Master Damian, I shall notify your father before he arrives." He then looked to the three high schoolers. "Would you like anything to drink? Tea, Water?"

"Some strawberry iced tea would be nice, thank you," Jack answered easily. She was still staring around the mansion with analytic eyes. Apparently treating the situation as normal helps her cope with the shock, Damian guessed with a small smirk.

"Uh…" Blake didn't even say a word before Trisha grinned at the butler.

"Uh, okay, we'll just take some water, thanks."

When they finally reached the drawing room, Blake looked over Damian like he was an alien. "Dude, who are you?"

When Damian opened his mouth, he was stopped by Trisha's insistent hand waving. "No, no, no wait! I want to guess!" She leaned over the rectangular table and eyed Damian with searching brown irises. "You're obviously a very rich kid. Act rich too; Lot of pomp. But I thought it was because you were an only child with a high middle-class family. This is Gotham though, if you were in the high middle class, you'd be at the private school." By this time, Alfred entered the room with the tray of drinks and some sandwiches. "But no, you must've insisted on going to this school, but for what reason? You were interested in the gangs, oh but that's not the point. What is? Who are you? The drive took us to the edge of the city, only a handful of Gotham's elite live in this area, including the Mayor. But the mayors a woman, this mansion is clearly emasculate. Defined with a male touch. There's only one servant, so he's a closed off man. But he's not here as Pennyworth stated, so he's a busy man. Businessman. Too busy to have more than one servant. Trust issues? Perhaps. Now which of Gotham's male elites has trust issues, spends all his time at work, likes the secluded life, but somehow managed a son?" Her pause lasted for five seconds but in that time, Damian could only stare at the girl in shock. In the end, Trisha's grin widened and she slammed her palm on the table. "Your father is Bruce Wayne!"

"You voiced all your thoughts just to show off, didn't you?" Blake commented blandly, clearly calmed down.

"Uh, fuck yeah I did," Trisha replied with a smug smirk.

"I must say, that was some fine deductive reasoning skills." Alfred quipped. "Who taught you this?"

"Oh, it's just a little something I picked up on the way. Can't get much information without looking for it, am I, right?" Tisha answered with a wink.

"Yes, great. Amazing. Can we get on with the project now?" Jack sighed out, taking out her textbook and handing it to Blake.

Damian nodded. "As much as I'd like to continue, Jaqueline is correct. We only have a limited time on this project so let's not dally."

"Will your guests be staying for dinner, sir?" Alfred asked, hands behind his back a few paces behind Damian.

The young lad shook his head. "No, I believe they already made plans so they won't be staying long."

"True," Blake added, writing down his notes on a piece of paper to be copied onto the board.

The aging butler then turned, "As you wish Master Damian. I'll have the car ready at around six'ish to take your friends home."


	8. Chapter 8

It's been two weeks since Damian took his… his friends (still such an awkward term) to his mansion. They never did get to see Bruce, much to Trisha's dismay. But Jack did promise Damian a meeting with his sister and finally, today was the day they get to meet.

It was a relatively populated coffee shop, located in one of Gotham's malls. It was both an advantage and disadvantage. He could marginally relax since she didn't seem the type to cause trouble with innocent people around. However, he also couldn't see her coming.

Looking behind him for any recognizable gang members, Damian missed the scrap of a chair across from him before a harsh but amused voice called out: "I don't have any guys around here, if that's what you're looking for." The brunette before him was both similar and different from Jack. She had the same facial structure, same half smile but the similarities ended there. Instead of it being gentle, like Jack's smiles were, this woman was more taunting; like she was holding herself back from grinning. Her hair was a short bob with long bangs, dyed black and the tips a neon green. Her eyes were just as Jacks, vibrant but of a different color; a bright green. The woman appeared older than Jack, simply by the way she held herself; relaxed but with a guarded expression. "Justice. Though you already knew that."

Reaching out for his cup of coffee, Damian frowned. "No last name?"

"Even if I had one, that's not how this works." Justice quipped back, taking a sip of her to-go cup. "Usually when one gives a name, social graces call for the other to do the same. So, in case you are inept –" She gestured to herself. "My name is Justice." Before gesturing to Damian.

The boy growled low in his throat. "Damian."

"See, that wasn't hard, now was it?" The green-eyed woman chuckled but it quickly died off when a frown overcame her. "So what does a punk like you want?"

Ignoring the insult, Damian pushed on. "Information. I heard there was recruiting going on. Gangs that are targeting children. Rumor has it, you know where these places are."

"Rumor also says that Penguin is half bird, but I'm not stupid enough to believe it." She gave the black-haired boy a quick glance before slouching in her seat. "Say I do know where the recruitment places are, then what?"

"Then I handle it for you."

"You mean Robin." Justice laughed at Damian's look of complete shock. "Come on, it's not hard to connect the dots. Two weeks ago, some kid in red was asking the same and now you too. You're connected to the guy, I already know." Lifting the cup to her lips, the woman rose a brow. "So, let's try this again. What do I get out of it?"

Gripping his hands, Damian grumbled. "What do you want?"

Taking it as a sign of defeat, Justice sat upright with a smirk. "Joker's recent hideout. I get that, you get the recruitment soldiers and, their stations. No doubt those places have some goodies the cops won't mind having."

Damian was skeptical of her reasoning. "What are you going to do with that information?"

Justice merely shrugged, her eyes now curiously dull; that put the boy further on edge. "Does it matter? I only want to talk with the bastard."

Taking up a calm façade, Damian leaned back. "Trisha told me he took something from you."

Her eyes blazed, but only for a second before scoffing. "Knew I shouldn't have said anything to her." Shaking her head, Justice then looked up at Damian with a playful yet dangerous glint. "Yeah, the guy killed my dog. I only want to talk to him, break his face it. Stuff like that."

"All for a dog?" The boy wondered, finding her reason insane and dramatic.

Narrowing her eyes, Justice defended her position. "He was a really good dog."

Weighing his chances, Damian finally relented. "Fine, I'll see what I can do."

With a calmer smirk, Justice stood. "Then we're done here." Slipping a piece of paper, the woman gathered her belongings – the simple coffee cup. "Use this to contact me and we'll be in touch."

Picking it up revealed a phone number – most likely untraceable. Though when he looked up to speak with her, the same could be said about Justice.


	9. Chapter 9

It took a while and a whole lot of convincing his father, but Damian finally had the recent location of the Joker. Then it took two more days to finally trace the phone and track it so Robin could follow Justice.

When the night finally came, Bruce had to call on the help of Dick and Tim while Damian focused his attention on Justice; it was his plan so he had to follow through on it.

Following the woman took time and patience. She was quick and often used roads that Robin couldn't easily follow, but he finally caught up to her at Jokers hideout. A decrepit apartment building closes to the residential area of Gotham.

Entering the building, Damian wasn't so much shocked as he was amazed that Justice could decapacitate so many armed thugs by herself. And in five minutes no less. Then he heard it; Jokers maniacal laughter.

Dashing up the stairs, Damian could hear the conversation before he even saw them.

"Well isn't this a surprise? What a touching family reunion!" Joker cackled. "Though I do have to say, I am kind of disappointed in you Jay-Jay. I mean a gun? Really? Have I taught you nothing?"

There was a thump and a groan. "Fuck you, asshole!"

When he reached the right floor, Damian decided to let things play out, hiding behind the wall and just watched. There was Joker in his now cut up purple suit, grinning widely at Justice who was swearing at the lunatic and wearing a black jacket with a green top.

With a swing, Joker caught her arm, but the girl braced herself to prevent him from flipping her again. "You'll pay for what you've done to me!"

Now Joker started pouting, leaping away from the green-eyed woman when she slashed at him with a knife. "What? Are you still upset over the dog? Come now, that was three years ago, you can't honestly be upset about that."

"This isn't just about him!" Then she pulled out a small throwing knife, managing to pierce his shoulder.

Damian considered jumping in but felt that there was more at play, so he waited. Considering her anger, this was deeply personal, but how personal did this reach.

Justice was panting down, hovering over Joker as he struggled with the knife in his body. Kicking the man over, the woman continued. "Truman was a good dog, but that's not the point! Oh, no, this is about me. What you did to me, what you made me into –."

Joker then chortled. "Killed by my own creation, how poetic." Then the man looked up at her with insane eyes. "What I did to you, it was only inevitable that this is what you would become. You knew what you were, you knew what I was going to make you into. And yet… You decided to run right when things got fun, all thanks to that goody-goody little sister of yours. But then you came back. Came back for little-old-me. Started causing all kinds of troubles for me and my associates." He then became somber for just a moment, a moment showing true rage. "I should be angry at you; I should've rung your neck! But really, I'm proud." He laughed again. "You've finally accepted yourself. The apple doesn't fall that far from the tree, now does it?"

Gritting her teeth, Justice rose her blade for the final kill, only to have it ripped from her hands by a bat-a-rang.

"That's enough!" Damian finally made himself known. Stepping from the shadows, he had the chance to fully assess the two criminals.

Joker was about as good as he expected. Two throwing knives in his body; one in the shoulder, the other in his leg. His famous suit a mess and smudged with dirt. The disheveled lunatic grinned at the boy. "Oh, little Robin Hood, fancy seeing you here. But a pity, you ruined all the fun."

Before Robin could say anything to that, Justice took care of him. Punching the man upside the head, Justice growled out. "Shut up."

The woman didn't look any better. Her jacket was ripped, revealing a long ugly gash, her face scratched up and she seemed to have a limp when she stepped on her right foot.

Looking over the Joker, determining that he was in fact knocked out, Robin finally focused his attention to a barely standing Justice. "I thought you said you were just going to talk to him?"

"I also said I was going to break his face it," She countered with a shrug. "Didn't lie there."

Attempting to limp away, Damian allowed the green-eyed girl to brush past. When she took a few more steps, he finally turned to her. "I understand that it was he who trained you to fight." Justice then stopped for a moment. "What did Joker mean, when he said 'the apple doesn't fall that far from the tree'?"

Damian saw her clench her fists, then relaxed before continuing down the stairs. "Figure it out your damn self, kid; I ain't got time for this shit."

"What's the connection between your sister and the Joker?"

It was before the next class and Damian finally managed to corner Jack when she was by herself and not hovered around by Blake or Trisha.

The amber eyed girl seemed shocked at his sudden question but it was more directed to its subject. Glancing around, she took Damian by the arm and guided him outside where there were fewer ears to hear. "Who told you about that?"

Crossing his arms, Damian answered cryptically. "A friend of mine saw her beating the Joker." When her eyes widened, the boy continued. "He said something about them knowing each other. You are sisters correct? What do you know about it?"

Looking the other way with a light grumble in her throat, Jack finally relented. With a sigh, she turned to Damian with wary trust. "Justice is… was the Joker's protégée. A couple years ago, she said the Joker found her and claimed to be her father. We were just kids then, she just started high school and Amy Gray found me. At the time, she was so happy to not be alone anymore but then… she started to change."

"Change. Change how?"

"She started to become more unstable, cruel to everyone in the orphanage and mean towards me. One time she even threatened another kid that took her seat by accident with a pencil to his eye. She was suspended." With another sigh, Jack brushed her hand through the long locks of auburn hair. "Then, when she started walking me to school, we found a dog. It was tiny and weak. I thought, 'well if Justice and take care of me, she can take care of this dog'." There was a small smile. "She treated that damn thing better than anyone else. After a while, she started getting back to normal. She was still a bitch, but more controlled and didn't threaten people so much." But the smile left her just as suddenly and Damian ventured a guess.

"The Joker didn't like her going soft, she he killed the dog."

Jack nodded and clenched her fists. "Justice was so angry, she lashed out at him, but he stabbed her. Left her to die by the docks like a dog. If I didn't follow her, she would've died. And now…"

"She's hell-bent on destroying Joker and the gangs in the area." Damian finished. Looking back at Jack, he nodded. "Thank you for divulging this information with me, I promise not to use it against you."

"Just keep it away from Trisha; I like her and all, but money is the one thing she likes more than friends if you catch my drift."

Damian nodded but couldn't help to add. "If Trisha hasn't told anyone about my identity, I doubt she'll tell anyone about yours. Besides that, it's your story and I have no right to contribute to the spreading of rumors."

Jack gave a quick upturn of lips. "Thanks Damian, you're a good guy."

"I know. Now let us be off, class should be starting soon, no reason to dally."


	10. Chapter 10

"You need me to do what?" Damian questioned, raising a brow at his father, whose back was turned while he typed on the bat computer.

The screen was filled with images of Joker and Justice, many of them facial scans, determining if she did, in fact, carry traits similar to the Joker. But that could only go so far.

"I need you to obtain a DNA sample from Justice," Bruce repeated. "I've already sent Dick ahead of you, but I need you to go as well, just so he doesn't get off topic."

Damian crossed his arms. "Finally taking what I said seriously?"

Bruce stopped typing and turned to face his son. The billionaire's face was carefully blank. "I always take was you say seriously, but Damian this is serious. If the Joker does have a daughter that we never knew about, this could spell trouble for Gotham. She's a danger to herself and the people of this city if her goal is, in fact, revenge."

Looking down in shame, Damian nodded. "You're right. I didn't mean to doubt you, father."

Swiveling back in his seat, Bruce nodded. "It's fine. Go ahead and prepare for your mission. Don't draw attention to yourself and be sure Dick has the sample before his time is up."

With a nod, the young Wayne made his way up the stairs, quick to join Dick on his mission.

When all was said and done, Bruce sighed, running a hand through his face as he looked up at the undeniable similarities between Joker and Justice.

Their main mission – taking down the high school recruiters Gordon was worried about – was done. The only reason he had Damian on this particular quest was simple; he needed the distraction.

In the two months Damian spent at that school, he became… happier. Still rude to Dick and Tim, but was more polite about it when his friends came over. He seemed more content than forced when his friends started showing up at random times of the day (thank goodness they always came during the day). So Bruce though it best to allow his son some time to divulge in this luxury. Friendship isn't something he'd want his blood to miss out on, not like he did.


	11. Chapter 11

Convincing his father of the fact that Joker had a daughter was one thing, giving him the facts was a whole nothing thing.

He was with Trisha, Blake, and Jack, thinking of a way to get Justice's DNA when a loud comment brought him back to the land of the living.

"Man what a freak, no wonder she's an orphan."

The group was at one of Gotham's popular hangouts, where there were games, food and drinks of acceptable prices, however it was filled to the brim with annoying brats that never seem to keep their thoughts to themselves. A perfect example would be the punks sitting a few tables down from Damian, a preppy group that attended the same school as them.

They were obviously talking about Jack, considering Trisha and Blake were having a dance battle a few yards away, already gathering a crowd. So, it just left Damian finishing his fries, and Jack scrolling through her phone.

"I mean look at those eyes," One girl commented with a snicker. "Creepy."

Damian glanced over at Jack to see if she was listening and she was, though she made no outwards signs of it. Her body was relaxed calm, but her fingers shook only slightly. She heard them alright.

Leaning over, the black-haired boy questioned. "Aren't you going to say anything to them?"

Glancing up, Jack shrugged. "Why should I? They have a right to their opinions, no matter how wrong and ridiculous those opinions are." Putting away her phone, Jack started nibbling on a fry. "Besides, if I give them the satisfaction of a response, they'll only keep doing it."

Standing, Damian ignored the group snickering over at them. "I'm going to see what's taking those two idiots so long."

"Bring back some more soda," Jack called back, unwilling to move from her seat.

After confirming that Trisha and Blake were still dancing each other out – and having Trisha promise to sign them all up for Laser Tag, Damian was making his way back to the table when two familiar faces stopped him.

These two were hanging out with that group laughing at Jack. They were larger than Damian, clearly varsity, but it's not like Damian hasn't handled larger opponents before.

The tanner of the two put on a forced smile. "Sup kid, names Rick." He then pointed to the paler version of himself. "This is Jason. We were just wondering, what are you doing hanging around with that chick?"

"You mean Jaqueline?" Damian managed to reply coolly; he wanted to tear these guys apart with their condescending smirks and tone. "Why does it matter to you?"

Rick rolled his eyes. "Ah just for personal interest. I just can't wrap my head around someone as cool as you hanging out with a loser like Janice." The boy then got in Damian's face. "You got a screw loose or something?"

"Jaqueline." Damian corrected, causing Rick to raise a brow. Giving the two of them a seething glare, the bat boy squared his shoulders. "Her name is Jaqueline, and I'd appreciate it if you refrain from insulting her any more than you already have." He then folded his hands behind his back, giving the larger boys a smirk of his own, "Unless you don't like walking, then please by all means, keep running your traps for I will gladly shut them."

There was a moment of silence until both Rick and Jason started laughing. "Or what? What's a twerp like you going to do?"

"Care to find out." Damian challenged, raising a taunting brow.

Jason was the one to bite the bait, giving Damian a sharp grin before moving to shove him. Big mistake.

Using the oaf's momentum to his advantage, Damian gracefully sidestepped the boy, grabbed his arm, tripped him up and flipped Jason, all in one motion. In the next second, all anyone could comprehend was a football player groaning on the ground with the object of the attack standing there and wiping his hands together like he touched something disgusting.

Rick just stood there, mouth gaping while Damian breezed on by. "If nothing else, then I'll just be on my way, but before I do." His eyes were like burning emeralds, staring up at the second ball player like he was an annoying insect. "If I catch you harassing my friend again, I'll end you."

Making his way back to Jack, he saw the girl sitting by the table, munching on her fries like she didn't have a care in the world. Next to her, a full cup of strawberry sprite soda.

Damian would've thought nothing happened, but after that little squabble, the young man risked a glance to the table of girls, finding them pouting and whispering angrily to each other, all while chancing a glance at Jack.

Taking his seat, Damian set down his cup of water. "Anything happen while I was gone?"

"Nothing at all." Jack answered easily, looking up and _smiling_ at Damian. "You?"

The boy couldn't help but chuckle, "No."


	12. Chapter 12

Batman was adamant about Damian staying at the school. Though they did end up catching most of the recruitment members, there was still the possibility of there being more at school. So even though a week has passed, the young man had no choice but to stay and keep his eyes open for trouble. Leading to this situation:

"A dodgeball game?" Damian repeated, earning an eager nod from Trisha.

"Yeah. Since senior finals are coming up, the rest of the school gets to relax, blow off some steam. The student council even signed off on all the underclassmen to make some groups to participate in the dodgeball tournament," Trisha quickly explained.

"I get that," Damian stated, picking up the sandwich Alfred made for him this morning. "But why do you want me to sign off on it?"

"So you can play with us, duh!" Blake jumped into the conversation, taking the seat next to Trisha. "We heard about what you did to Jason – and to be honest, we can all agree: the dick deserved it. But you got skills bruh! Skillz with a 'z'!"

"We could totally use you!"

"Plus, Trisha already placed bets on us winning." Blake finally admitted, earning a thwack on the head.

Damian couldn't help but sigh. "So the true reason comes out."

"It's not that bad," Jack chipped in, flipping a page in her book. Damian figured she wasn't listening in, but she did have a habit of giving that impression. "We got third place last year."

"Yeah but barely," Trisha complained, crossing her arms. "I almost lost because jackass stepped the line and got himself out."

"'We'?" Damian repeated, glancing at Jack as she put her book down to properly join the conversation.

Blake shook his head at the accusation. "It was a crap call!"

Jack nodded, shifting a bit so she could properly answer Damian. "Yeah, I played in it last year. Didn't get that far."

"Jack tripped on her ass and got pelted by dodgeballs."

Said female glared at the blonde. "Thanks for reminding me, Blake."

A grin was her response. "Anytime!"

Trisha then scooted in her seat, sliding the sign in sheet closer to the raven-haired boy. "So… Are you in or what?"

Flashes of those people from the other day came to mind before he asked, "Are those people from the mall going to play as well?"

Blake scoffed, rolling his ice-blue eyes. "You mean Rick and the 'Varsity Throwbacks'?"

Trisha grinned, clicking her pen and placing it on the table. "They play every year and win."

Damian smirked right back, taking the pen before signing his name. "Then let's break that streak of theirs, shall we?"

The dodgeball game was fairly easy for Damian. The matches were only two minutes, three rounds and his team was fairly… decent. Trisha managed to convince two able-bodied students to join their game – one of them was even in softball. So it was Trisha, Damian, Blake, Jack and two strangers. Trisha was ruthless, her balls famously smacking her target with more force than necessary, one time knocking a girl on her ass. Blake was good at deflecting and defending his team; always a good skill. Jack was agile enough (probably trying to make up for last year), though was often targeted because of her lack of participation, making her an easy target.

Damian however, was their star player, able to take out as many people as possible and not getting out. He tried to keep his skills down, just so the others could have some enjoyment, but that didn't mean he didn't show off.

Then they made it to the top two. Trisha, for her part, was 'shockingly' modest. Laughing manically, the girl had a large group of students crowd her, most of them irritated and disheartened. "That's right fools! Cork it over!" She then snapped her fingers at one boy in particular. "You too Dante, don't bitch out now."

Jack was next to him, reading a book on 'body language', so she answered his silent question. "Trisha made a bet that we'd make it to the finals. Of course, when she told everyone I was going to be on her team, they'd all bet against her."

Damian quirked a brow. "But you're doing quite well so far."

"I know," Was her simple answer as she placed her book back in her bag before standing. "But believe it or not, I wasn't always this good with sports. Now look at us."

Blake sighed when the team got together. Across the basketball court was the opposite team, co-ed like their own. The Varsity Throwbacks, containing the same group of people that insulted Jack and Damian just a few days prior. The athletes, according to Trisha, mainly focused on football and track, so they had to be careful of harsh quick throws and make sure their balls don't get caught.

"Aim for their legs if you have to," Jack provided everyone, returning a glare to one of the girls that gave the group a thumb down. "Maybe their heads."

Blake was ecstatic, bouncing with energy. He clapped his friend on the shoulders. "Alright, Jackie here is getting fired up. Let's do it!"

"Whoever doesn't get called out in the first round." Trisha started, the group already walking to their places. She smirked, "I'll split my money."

"You bet on us to win, didn't you?" One of the strangers grinned back.

The redhead winked, grin widening. "You bet your ass, sweetie."

Damian shook his head, but couldn't help the adrenaline competition brought him. Looking to the other side of the gym, the other team was ready as well.

One of the boys, Rick if he recalled correctly, shouted out: "You're going down!"

"Put your money where your mouth is!" Trisha shouted back.

There was a tense silence as both sides waited for the coach to blow the whistle, but when she did, it all became a blur.

Damian never saw someone move so fast! He was only a second behind the enemy before she managed to grab two balls right from under Damian, the boy having no choice but to retreat.

They only managed to grab one ball, thanks to the stranger of his team, however, when the boy threw it, one of the football players caught it and shouted in victory. "Oh, get that weak stuff out of here!"

That same athlete pointed to Damian, extending his arm back before slinging right at the boy. His reflexes were fast, so the raven-haired boy managed to catch the ball and aim it right at an opposite member, managing to clip her knee.

"You two!" The coach bellowed. "Out!"

5-4, Damian mused. Let's hope this lasts.

It was a close call. The first round, Damian won by a hair's breath; he was holding back due to the fact that if he didn't, he'd seriously break someone or the ball with his throws. Though the second round, he was too slow to evade the rubber ball from bouncing off his shoulder.

So now the score was one to one. The third round called it. It was such a stressful moment, even Trisha was on edge, pacing back and forth with her team like a mother.

Her smile was absent when she spoke, worry thick. "Come one guys, we can do this. Let's not stress now."

One of the members scoffed. "Easy for you to say, you hit Jason upside the head. Twice."

Then the redhead picked up the boy by the collar of his shirt, a panicked gleam in her eyes. "How is this easy for me! I bet 50% of my money on this game and I am not gonna lose!" She finished by tossing him down.

Jack was the one who stood up, calm before the storm. Or so it seemed.

"Everyone, shut the fuck up!" The normally quiet teen shouted, silencing the group and even a few people on the stands behind them. Her glare was fierce and glowing with annoyance. She looked to Trisha. "Trish," She only ever used that shortened version when she's upset. "Stop yelling at everyone just because of your gambling issues – it's annoying." Then she addressed the rest of the team. "Everyone else, calm the heck down. If you guys keep on panicking, it'll only cause you to make more mistakes. You don't have to relax, but be on guard. If we're going to win this, think of your goal and stick to it. For example: If we win, I'll let you guys in the VIP area of the Kobra Club."

That seemed to brighten the group as they all smiled at each other. Even Trisha seemed to crawl out of her dark hole and grin half-heartedly. Swinging an arm around her friends shoulders, the Trisha sang, "throw in some free drinks, and I'm in."

Damian didn't need any pep talk – he already made up his mind to up his game just a tad – but it was nice to see these group of people convince and persevere together. True friends.

As everyone started making their way to the court, Blake turned to the musing green-eyed kid. With a bright grin, Blake ran his hand through blonde hair. "You ready Demion?"

Damian smirked a the variant of his name, standing with ease as she smirked back. "Let's just put these fools in their place."

Yeah, they were true friends, and he was a part of them.

 ** _I was having so many flashbacks remembering my high school days, it was so hard. In my senior year, I was in a dodgeball team but I'm such a dork, I tripped and fell on my ass. I heard everyone go: 'Ohhh'. I was so mortified. But my team kind of won, so that's good. But when I was writing this, I had to stop and wail, 'Oh I hate people!'._**


	13. Chapter 13

His mission was complete. The same night Damian grudgingly saved the Joker also happened to be the same night Batman and Nightwing captured all parties recruiting the high schoolers. But Bruce knew Damian was having fun – even if the boy himself didn't want to admit it. He had friends, people that cared for him and sometimes made him laugh, so the father allowed his son a few more weeks of the school before he couldn't fool him anymore.

There were still some unanswered questions: who was Justice? Where is she? Is she going to be a threat? But that wasn't his problem – for now.

What is his problem? The three, or more like two, blubbering idiots that decided to make a scene right in front of the school. Jack was standing off to the side while Trisha and Blake were hugging the life out of Damian. Alfred was there, watching the scene with an amused glance.

"Oh, Damian!" Blake started wailing. "You gotta be joking! Come on bro, you can't just leave me here. We finally got an even number in our group! Who's going to have my back when these two assholes want to go shopping or some shit?"

"Shut up, dick!" Trisha shouted. "You're making a scene. Dami wants to quit school quietly, and now you're just fucking it up!"

The blonde boy faked a gasp before turning to a disgruntled Damian. "You wanted to quit without people knowing?! Oh man! First I find out you're leaving and now I ruin your plans; this is just not a good day for me!" He dropped to his knees and reached out toward the sky shouting dramatically, "I'm such a fuck-up!"

"I have a feeling you two are doing this on purpose." Damian managed as he pulled himself out of Trisha's grasp.

Trisha smirked, pinching her thumb and index finger together just a smidge. "Hmm, maybe a little."

Damian rolled his eyes, folding his arms. "Are you two quite done yet?"

Skipping over, the redhead shook her head. "Not yet we're not!" She then whipped out her phone. "Group photo! Hey, Jack come on over so we can take a selfie together."

When Jack finally joined in, Blake swung his arms around Damian, Trisha in the center with the grumbling teenager and Jack at the edge next to Trisha. "Everyone say cheese!"

"Cheese!" Blake and Trisha shouted; Damian would rather die than do something childish like that.

Then the four broke away, Trisha pressing a bunch of buttons before pocketing the device. "Aright, I sent you the picture, just so you won't forget about us."

When his phone buzzed, Damian ignored it, making a disgusted face instead. "I wish I could."

This then earned a high-pitched laughter from Blake and a smirk from Jack. Undeterred, the flamboyant junior implored. "But you'll stay in touch, though, right Dami? You'll call and text us every day?"

"No, why would I?" Was the boy's blunt response.

"Oh…" Trisha sagged but then jumped back to life with a wicked grin. "But that's okay, we know where you live so we'll visit you anyways!"

"Damn it." Damian seethed, walking back to the vehicle with Alfred already waiting inside.

"See ya later Damian!" Blake shouted out. "We'll miss you!"

"I'll think about you every day when getting my information!" Trisha exclaimed good-heartedly.

Damian glanced over to Jack and saw the girl with a small smile and gave a two-fingered salute. "Try not to get yourself killed out there."

Returning their farewells with a smile of his own, Damian gave them all a wave as Pennyworth drove off.

Looking through the rearview mirror, Alfred smiled when he saw Damian scrolling through his smartphone. "Lively group of friends you have, Master Damian. Shame to leave them."

Looking down at the picture with a fond smile, Damian shut down the device gently. "Yes, it is, but Gotham needs me and besides – those fools are too stubborn to just leave me alone."


End file.
